- published: 14 Feb 2014
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Branko Oblak (born on 27 May 1947 in Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Slovenian football coach and former international player. He usually played as an offensive midfielder or deep-lying playmaker, notable for his excellent dribbling, stamina, great vision and precision passing. He was also capable of helping out defensively.
Brane, as he is often known, started playing football at the youth team of Svoboda Ljubljana. In 1965 he went to Ljubljana's more famous club, Olimpija. He made his debut on 20 May 1966 against Partizan in Belgrade, where he scored both Olimpija's goals for a 1–2 win. He stayed with Olimpija until 1973. During that time he played 181 matches and scored 33 goals.
In 1973 he moved to Hajduk Split and stayed there for two seasons. In both seasons Hajduk won the national champion and cup winner titles. In 1975 he signed a two-year contract with Schalke 04 of the German Bundesliga. In the 1976–77 season, Oblak's second year at the club, Schalke 04 finished the league in second place, behind Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the summer of 1977, Oblak went to Bayern Munich. He stayed there for three seasons and in his final season with the club (1979–80), Bayern became the German champion. After that, Oblak played in various Austrian amateur clubs until 1987, when he retired as a football player.